Kaek-ekan – Noel Bava, SJ

Luke 12:13-21, 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time I’ve always been curious about the word “kaek-ekan.” You know—when someone says, “Puro ka na lang kaek-ekan!” It’s a term we often use for things that feel pointless, shallow, over-the-top, or just plain unnecessary. It could be someone being too dramatic, or someone who’s trying too hard to…

Maamo o Palaban – Arnel Aquino, SJ

Luke 10:38-42, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time My happy barkada of four religious and three lay people had dinner two months ago. Over dessert, our host started naming friends he considered mabait. “Itong si x, mabait na tao, ano? Parang si y, ang bait din.” We all agreed wit his list. We even threw in…

The Better Part – Harvey Mateo, SJ

Luke 10:38-42, 16th Sunday in Ordinary Time The Gospel story of Martha and Mary often gets interpreted as a call to balance action and contemplation. That’s a comforting takeaway—but it may not be the full message. After all, Jesus clearly says Mary has chosen “the better part.” So, perhaps the Gospel invites us not to…

Go and Do – Nemy Que SJ

Luke 10:25-37, 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Our Gospel today offers us a popular parable, one that is very familiar: the Good Samaritan. Many of us have our favorite interpretations of this parable. Mine comes from Paul Ricœur’s essay, “The Socius and the Neighbor.” It’s an essay that used to be required reading for all Ateneo students taking Philosophy…

See What Matters Most – Willy Samson, SJ

Matthew 10:7-15; Thursday in Week 14 of Ordinary Time Good morning. As everyone knows, I am on Sabbatical for a few months after ending my seven-year ministry in the Diocese of Kalookan and preparing for my new ministry as a chaplain in the Philippine General Hospital. One of my plans for my Sabbatical is to…

The True Food – Noel Bava, SJ

Luke 9:11-17, Solemnity of the Feast of Corpus Christi What’s the first thing that you reach out for when you wake up in the morning? How many times do you open your cellphones to check your messages or the latest on social media apps?  How much longer do you stay in the rest room with…

𝐈nfluencers Of 𝐀 𝐃ifferent 𝐊ind – Jordy Orbe, SJ

Matthew 5:13-16, Tuesday of Week 10 in Ordinary Time In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers: “You are the salt of the earth. You are the light of the world.” It is striking that He doesn’t say try to be light, or work on becoming salt. He simply says: you are. The question is: What…

To See Is to be Deceived – Noel Bava, SJ

Luke 24:46-53; Solemnity of the Asencion Brothers and sisters, This week, the world caught its breath as Google unveiled Veo 3—a revolutionary AI (artificial intelligence) video model capable of generating hyper-realistic films, documentaries, and even fake news clips with scary accuracy. Imagine these scenarios: seeing a video of a war that never happened. A documentary…

Heavenward – Jett Villarin, SJ

Luke 24: 46-53; Solemnity of the Asencion Fr Vic Badillo SJ, of happy memory, was our resident astronomer at the Manila Observatory. An asteroid is named after him. We used to say that of all the Jesuits working at the Observatory, Fr Vic had the best job of all. He spent his evenings looking up…

What is Love but Our Mother Persevering? – Noel Bava, SJ

John 15:9-17, Sixth Sunday of Easter Have you ever heard of people who, months, even years after the death of their loved ones, have not been able to resume with their normal lives and regular routines? They leave the rooms of their dearly departed unchanged, put a space on the dining table complete with the…

Moving – Jett Villarin, SJ

John 24:23-29, Sixth Sunday of Easter Nothing in this world is ever still. Everything is moving all the time. When something moves, we say it is alive. When it is motionless, we say it is lifeless. Motion is life. Life is motion.     Even things that seem dead to us are not without motion. The…